


Blindsided

by In_Dee



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:20:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27097222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/In_Dee/pseuds/In_Dee
Summary: He whirled around, blinded and confused but still ready to defend himself.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 53





	Blindsided

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm back to Callen-whumping *g*  
> Have fun with this.
> 
> And as always, stay safe everyone!

His head was ringing. He was close to either losing consciousness or vomiting - or both. A hand fell on his shoulder. He whirled around, blinded and confused but still ready to defend himself. His hands connected with flesh and he drew back to give himself some room. Sound was muted and distorted as well, not giving him much focus or clarity either and he relied on what little senses he retained to place his opponent.

Keeping his hands up, he wavered in place, trying to fall back into a battle ready stance. Moments later, his wrists were caught in firm grips. Adrenaline and panic escalated and Callen tried to wrench free. His move was countered and he was swiftly turned and drawn firmly against another person’s body. He bucked against the hold, trying to get control over the panic that seemed to drench his senses.

A moment of clarity hit, some of his senses working through the fog of injury, pain and adrenaline. He relaxed into Sam’s body, recognizing his partner’s physique.

Sam’s hold on him eased in response.

Callen allowed his head to hang down for a moment, allowed Sam to hold his weight when some of the adrenaline seeped away, leaving him exhausted, trembling and hurting. “Need to sit down,” he murmured, feeling the words rumble out of his chest but not hearing them.

Instead of complying, Sam shifted his hold, ducking beneath Callen’s arm before he started moving them.

“Sam,” Callen muttered.

Sound remained distorted and he merely felt the vibrations coming from Sam’s chest that alerted him of the fact that Sam was speaking.

“Can’t hear,” he advised and Sam briefly tightened his arm around him.

He stumbled along as Sam was moving them. The pace was urgent and Callen did his best, but without vision or sound to orient himself, he was completely dependent on Sam. Someone else suddenly appeared at his other side and Callen flinched into Sam, flailing slightly.

His left arm was caught mid-flail and drawn over another set of shoulders. The physique suggested Deeks was at his other side, helping in stabilizing him and getting them away.

The going got a little easier with the added help of a second team-mate to stabilize and guide him. They took most of his weight, making him stumble less because they easily adjusted for his missteps.

Slowly, some sounds sharpened. The muted roaring was still there, but he could make out some distinct sounds. As for his eyes… he kept them squeezed shut against the fierce stinging and burning sensation.

Attuned to his surroundings, he felt rather than saw them change around him. Open space faded away, substituted for the feeling of closed quarters. Cool shade took place of the oppressive heat from before.

Deeks and Sam both ducked out from under his arms and carefully lowered him down so that his back was pressed against a rough wall. Nothing man made but natural rock. One presence withdrew while the other knelt closer.

Callen felt his head being angled up, deft fingers checking for damage, identifying Sam as the person remaining close.

Sound rang out, but it was still too distorted to make out words.

Dread and trust warred within him when his head was tilted back further. He flinched at the first tickle of fluid, made to shift away when Sam’s hold on his shoulder stopped him. The grip was firm before it was gone again. Knowing he needed to trust his partner, Callen held himself rigidly. He flinched again at the moisture, but didn’t draw back this time.

Only when Sam carefully peeled back his eyelid, did he wrench away with a pained yelp. His hands rose to his eyes but were caught in a strong grip before he could make contact.

A second body once more appeared at his side and Callen jumped. He was seriously impaired by the loss of vision and sound. Adrenaline was seeping back in, trying to override his rationality.

“Keep… steady.” The return of the first distinct sounds that shaped themselves into words were a relief.

“Sam?” he asked, dread once more surging when he was drawn away from the wall and turned slightly to the side. His body was tipped back and his hands came up in reflex.

“Easy,” the quiet rumble of a word shaped itself from behind him as he was drawn against the body in his back. He couldn’t identify the speaker by his voice, still too distorted to be certain, but the body in his back wasn’t that of his partner.

“Sam?” he asked again.

“H- still… need… clear out… debris…”

The words broke and undulated in his ears, but they were clear enough to give him some context. His hands reached up once more, settling against the forearm that was slung across his chest. Deeks tightened his hold in response.

A hand on his forehead guided his head back to rest against Deeks’ shoulder.

Tension remained in his body, but Callen pushed it away. “Go ahead,” he murmured, forcing himself to relax and trust his team-mates. Judging from the last attempt Sam had made, it was going to hurt, so he steeled himself for it.

He jerked with a hiss when Sam once more started to clear out his eyes, fluid leaking over his face, mixing with the tears that had long since started leaking to try and clear his eyes in a physiological response. He couldn’t be sure but he guessed some of the fluid might also be blood.

Callen forced his focus away from his eyes, trying to take stock of the rest of his body. His left arm and shoulder hurt, but other than that, he felt mostly alright, if still disoriented.

Someone started wiping his face with a cloth. Callen tried reaching up to take over, but found his hand batted away. He gritted his teeth but sunk back down.

He tried to focus on sound, gratified to find it slowly sharpening further.

“… him down,” he heard a moment before Deeks shifted behind him and together with Sam, they laid him down on the ground. Sam crowded closer but Deeks withdrew. Callen tried to blink his eyes open, but Sam’s hand instantly settled over his eyes.

“Keep them closed,” Sam told him firmly, the first complete sentence that Callen had been able to make out since the explosion.

“How bad?” he asked, fighting to keep the warble of worry out of his voice.

Sam shifted beside him. The vibration of something hitting the floor beside him made Callen turn questioningly towards it, keeping his eyes closed though and doing as Sam had directed. It unnerved him greatly to be unable to take in his surroundings.

“I’ve cleared them out as best as I could. Can’t do more for the moment. I’ll tape them shut.”

“Like hell you will,” Callen growled, turning to roll over onto his side and sit up.

A firm hand on his shoulder kept him down, “suck it up, G,” Sam told him sharply, his voice tight with worry, “taped shut or not, your eyes won’t be of any use to you right now. And in taping them shut, chances improve that you’ll not mess them up further.”

“Fuck,” Callen hissed out between clenched teeth. He suspected that Sam was right but he didn’t want to acknowledge it, especially not given the circumstances. “I’ll be a sitting duck,” he muttered, shoving against Sam’s hand and rolling up into a sitting position.

Sam helped stabilize him before he pushed him against the wall in his back. “Hold still,” his partner ordered and Callen distantly heard him rummage through something - probably his backpack that held one of their first aid kits.

He wanted to reach up and rub at his eyes, but Callen knew it would only annoy Sam and wouldn’t do much for himself so he kept his hands down.

“What’s the situation?”

“We’re in a cave. Kensi and Deeks are securing the entrance,” Sam gave back, his voice somewhat distracted.

At least his hearing had stabilized. There were some sounds and fractions of speech that rumbled and refused to sharpen, but at least he was somewhat functional like this. Blinded and deaf in a combat situation was like waving a red flag in front of a bull without being aware of it.

“Lean back,” Sam directed and Callen did as his partner asked, leaning his head back against the wall.

He held still as Sam taped his eyes shut, and leaned forward as directed afterwards as Sam proceeded to put a bandage on top, sealing his eyes shut. The light pressure did somehow alleviate some of the pain. “Check my left arm?” he asked his partner.

Only a moment later, Sam reached for his arm, helping him shrug out of his camo before carefully checking it over. “Nasty cut,” he commented before cleaning it out and then doing quick work in putting a pressure bandage on. Callen wiggled his fingers, satisfied he wouldn’t be too impaired. There was a dull ache in his left shoulder where he suspected he had impacted with the ground after the explosion.

“How’s your hearing?” Sam asked.

“Mostly alright. Some sounds are still distorted, but I can work with that,” Callen gave back simply, “help me up.” He held out his hand and a moment later, Sam drew him up.

Callen patted himself down. His rifle was gone, but his gun was still in its holster. His thigh holsters revealed his backup gun as well as a knife. The spare ammo was also where he had left it. Drawing his primary gun, he ejected a bullet and chambered a new round. No use in finding it jammed in case the chambered bullet had been dislodged during his fall. Securing the gun once more, he repeated the action with his backup. All those movements were done in under a minute, relying on muscle memory and experience when he couldn’t see what he was doing.

“Anyone got a spare earwig?” he asked.

“Deeks got the extra stash, but it won’t help you much,” Sam gave back, “our comms are down.”

Callen turned his head towards the right when he heard someone approach. Judging from the length of stride and firmness of step it was Deeks. “Just the connection to Ops or also short-range transmission between our comm.-units?” he asked, turning back to Sam.

“Just the connection to Ops,” Deeks answered a moment later.

“Then give me an earwig,” Callen reiterated, holding out a hand, palm up.

Something light dropped into his palm and Callen closed his fingers around it, feeling the earwig and turning it around and over. He reached up and put it into his right ear where he usually wore his earwig.

“If your hearing is compromised, you shouldn’t wear one. It doesn’t exactly matter if you have one or not,” Sam argued softly, “the three of us still have ours.”

“Yeah, but we might split up,” Callen replied before reaching up and taking the earwig out again. It seemed his left ear was more compromised than the right. With the earwig in his right, he would be less aware of what was going on around him. Callen put the earwig into his left ear, tilting his head to the side.

“We won’t split up. At least not in a way you’ll be on your own,” Sam said firmly.

Yeah, that worked better. He would hopefully still be able to hear what was being said through their comm.-system and have his right ear free to focus on his surroundings. “Status report,” he ordered curtly, not reacting to what Sam had said previously.

“We were caught in a frontal attack. At least seven shooters,” Sam replied, switching gears from an argument to giving his team leader the information he required, “one grenade launcher.”

Yeah, that grenade had come up close and rather personal. He had been lucky though - mostly. “We shouldn’t even have been on their radar yet. We were still several klicks away from the compound,” Callen frowned. They had been sneaking in on foot so as not to spook their targets. No one answered the silent question on how they had been spotted.

“We took out several men in the attack,” Deeks spoke up.

“They’ll regroup. We haven’t been able to figure out how well trained that bunch is before we set out. Depending on their training, they’ll regroup sooner or later,” Callen went on, “we need to relocate.”

“Preferably something higher ground, more easier defendable,” Sam added.

“There should be several more caves further up,” Kensi’s voice rang out through their comms. Her voice was muted due to his troubles in hearing, but it was still clear enough so that he understood. The cave wasn’t that deep so Callen could also faintly hear her from the entrance of the cave, but she had kept her voice low so as not to risk giving their position away.

Callen nodded before he reached up and touched the earwig. “Kensi, take point,” he ordered, “Deeks with me. Sam, take up the rear.”

Usually, Callen would prefer his partner at his side, as he knew the other man’s moves well, could instinctively fall in step and compensate more easily for his current impairment, but Sam and Kensi were better close combat fighters than Deeks. They would both need their hands free and not have an armful of Callen to drag around and deposit first in case they were attacked.

Deeks stepped up on his left side, but Callen shook his head and motioned for him to move around before he lifted his right arm instead. Without comment, Deeks changed sides and drew Callen’s arm over his shoulder. Callen wiggled his arm that was still caught in Deeks’ light grip, “let go,” he directed, “keep your gun hand free, I can manage like this.”

When Deeks let go of his arm, he levered himself up a little further, tightening his arm around Deeks’ shoulder. The other man’s left arm came up around his waist to help stabilize him further. “No groping to try and make Kensi jealous. I’d rather not get caught in the crossfire,” Callen teased, grinning when he heard Deeks’ scoff. “Let’s go,” he directed to the rest of the group.

He had trained scenarios like this before, had trained to be able to function if he lost his vision, but real life was harsher than training where he could always yank off the blindfold when he got fed up with it. Most of those training scenarios had been with Sam at his side, though he had also done some training regimens with different people before he had joined NCIS. He knew his confidence in Sam was absolute, but as they started to move, he found that his trust in Deeks ran deep as well. It made something unclench within him. What was happening right now didn’t leave room for doubt. He knew his team was well trained, a close knit unit that functioned as a well oiled machine. He knew these people well, knew how they operated because he had done a lot to shape them into the cohesive unit they were today.

While those past blindfolded trainings had been well and good, they had mostly taken place in controlled conditions - like inside and on even ground. Callen made a mental note to implement real life conditions into these training scenarios as he stumbled along. Deeks kept his steps even, quietly muttering warnings about loose rocks or sloping ground and other difficult conditions.

The going was slow as Kensi led them to higher ground. His boot slipped on some loose gravel on the steep path and he quickly adjusted his footing to keep from falling, Deeks’ grip tightening in accordance. Callen focused even more on placing his feet, taking as much time as he could to make sure he didn’t misstep without taking too much time and thereby slowing them down. It was still a slow going, but he couldn’t move faster without compromising their safety. The rest of the team wordlessly adjusted to his speed.

He knew the others were focused on their surroundings, making sure there would be no attack coming at them. Being blind, Callen couldn’t offer much help there, but he trusted his team to watch their backs.

Callen reached up and touched his earwig, “Kensi, if we have options, look for a cave with a bottleneck entrance,” he directed quietly. A bottleneck would be safer as it was more easily defendable.

“You got it,” Kensi’s voice rang out in his ear a moment later.

Trying to split his focus between his steps and wondering about how to keep the mission on track, Callen cursed under his breath when he stumbled. Deeks’ hold tightened and he managed to get his feet under him once more. It seemed he needed his complete focus on walking for the moment, not on planning.

They moved on in silence for what had to be a good quarter of an hour before the ground evened out a little. The going got somewhat easier for him then.

Considering the ground felt easier now, he was confused when Deeks stopped him and changed sides, ducking under his right arm. “You should stay on the other side. You’re right-handed and can get to your gun more quickly if I stay on your left,” Callen argued, trying to nudge Deeks back towards his right side.

“Yeah, no,” Deeks negated, drawing him closer instead, “trust me, you don’t want to be on the left right now. Stick close. The path is narrow and on our left is a rather steep drop-off. Anyone shooting at us… turning around to fire back is about the last thing I should do.”

That actually made sense. If there was an incline to their left and Callen unknowingly wandered too close to it or stumbled, he could drag Deeks down with him. With Deeks on his left, the other man controlled how close Callen got to the ledge. “Point taken,” he muttered when Deeks got them going again.

Moments later, he felt an object coming up on his right and Callen carefully reached out with his hand.

“Sheer rock face,” Deeks told him even before his hand made contact.

Callen’s fingers brushed against the rock.

“Ok, we’re coming up to the ledge,” Deeks advised.

Callen merely nodded in response, feeling himself tensing when he knew of the threat but couldn’t see it to verify it for himself.

“Slow and easy does it,” Deeks coached calmly. “The ground is smooth. Three steps ahead there is a boulder on your right so tread carefully there. Two steps… one. Slow down,” Deeks advised. They stopped and Deeks drew him closer before turning them sideways and then crab-walking them around the obstacle. Once they were past the boulder, he turned them forward again. “You good?”

“Good,” Callen echoed an affirmative, forcing himself to breathe slowly.

“Another 20 yards and the path will widen. Another ten after that and there’s a cave Kensi seems to have her eyes on.”

“Any more obstacles?” Callen asked.

“No, smooth sailing, but some loose gravel about six steps in,” Deeks commented.

Callen focused on his team-mate’s direction, keeping his steps slow and careful as he felt the way with his feet. He felt himself relax the further they went, knowing he could trust Deeks and having been able to adjust to Deeks’ steps and his guidance by now.

After what he judged would be the twenty yards Deeks had detailed, the Detective stepped a little to the left, putting a few more inches of space between them and with that move suggesting the path was widening. Callen’s hand remained on the rock face to his right, giving him a point of orientation.

“Five more steps and then we’ll stop at the entrance to the cave,” Deeks told him and Callen gave a small nod. His fingertips trailed over the rock, feeling the rifts and edges.

Moments later, Deeks stopped them.

“The entrance is narrow,” Kensi warned from somewhere in front of them.

Deeks turned them around so that Callen’s back was against the rock, the Detective taking up position in front of him. Quiet footsteps from the left alerted him to the fact that Sam was catching up with them. His partner slipped past him, his hand briefly lingering on his shoulder.

Sam moved into the cave, the sound of his footsteps changing momentarily before fading away in the confines of the cave.

Callen knew that Kensi was somewhere to his right, probably scanning the surroundings just as Deeks would be doing from his position in front of him. He could do nothing more than stay where he was and wait.

Forty seconds later, Sam returned. “Cave’s clear and will work for us,” he reported. Deeks shifted and drew Callen away from the wall in his back. He carefully nudged him towards where Sam’s voice had sounded out. Callen’s right hand was once more on the rock face, feeling the way.

“Turn sideways,” Sam directed the moment his hand fell onto Callen’s shoulder. Callen followed the demand and turned, his hand still lingering on the rock as a point of orientation. Sam’s hand left his shoulder and instead reached for the back of his head. He followed the wordless command and tilted his head forward. “Two steps towards me,” Sam directed and Callen shuffled along, “one step diagonal forward to the right.” He followed Sam’s bulk, his right hand leaving the rock and instead seeking to steady himself against his partner. Sam instantly reached for his arm, putting Callen’s hand against his shoulder. Callen’s left hand came up in front, feeling for where the wall began. Together with Sam, he navigated the entrance. Callen breathed a sigh of relief when they were inside. Sam gently pattered his shoulder.

The cave didn’t feel small; instead the walls seemed to open up once they made it through the narrow passage that marked the entry. Callen concentrated on the soft sounds their footsteps made, trying to judge the size of the cave by sound.

“How big?” he asked.

“Not quite ten yards in width. A good 30 yards into the mountain, getting narrower after eight yards though,” Sam detailed while he guided him over to a wall. Callen slowly sunk down, carefully and consciously relaxing his muscles after the effort of getting to this place, feeling the way his muscles were filled with tension. He took several deep breaths before focusing back on the issue at hand - now that he didn’t need his concentration on walking anymore, he had the capacity to consider their current position. He could use the few minutes the rest of the team needed to regroup and secure the place to their satisfaction by considering how they could proceed.

He had been physically compromised during the initial attack, hadn’t been aware of what had happened around him after he had been caught in the explosion. He needed those facts now. “How many did you take out during the attack?” he asked after once more activating his comm.-link.

“Four. Possibly five,” came Kensi’s prompt answer through their comms.

Thermal imaging earlier that day had shown 15 targets inside of the camp. They knew from intelligence sources that six to eight additional men were patrolling the area around the camp. They hadn’t expected them this far out though, hadn’t expected to encounter them as early as they had - nor had they expected that much resistance or firepower.

If the attack had been perpetrated by seven men as Sam had suggested earlier and four had been taken down - he would go with the conservative four instead of hoping for the possible five - that still left them with 18 enemy combatants in total.

“We need to abort the mission. Fall back and get to one of our pickup points,” Sam decided while Callen was still evaluating the odds.

Callen shook his head, “no, we’ll push on,” he issued his counter order.

“G. You’re wounded and our approach has been noticed. So any attempt at a stealth attack has gone out of the window,” Sam argued with him.

Yeah, stealth was well and truly off the table now, but, “they will expect us to withdraw. Considering the territory, they’ll probably try to flank us and circle around behind us to keep us from reaching a backup point. They know the terrain well and they will know possible pickup points so they can prepare an ambush.”

“Still--“ The footsteps approaching from his right were Sam’s, his voice that was coming closer as well supporting Callen’s deduction of his surroundings.

“We need to get that hardware back, Sam. We all know what will happen if the prototype is shipped off. If we lose it now, we will not like the consequences of it reappearing later,” Callen said firmly, tilting his head up at the other man even though he couldn’t see him.

Deeks joined the conversation, also coming closer, “he’s right about you being wounded though. It will be hard approaching the camp the state you’re in.”

“Which is why we’ll split up,” Callen agreed. He held up his hand when he heard both men draw breath to argue - and from the soft whoosh of air coming from the earwig, Kensi was probably of the same opinion. “Shelve your thoughts,” he said firmly. In the grand scheme of things, Callen’s life was expendable. The life of one agent didn’t measure against compromising national security and possibly - hopefully - managing to prevent an all out war. So yeah, Callen knew what he had to do.

At the same time, he didn’t fancy getting himself killed either.

“G, that’s far too dangerous,” Sam told him, “there’s got to be another way.”

He was reminded of words Hetty had spoken to him years ago.

_“Being in charge sucks, Mr. Callen. Everyone looks to you for guidance and answers, even when you have none to give. The true test of a commander is when he is as frightened and confused as those who look up to him. In that moment, when you can’t find it in yourself, you will find it in them. That’s leadership.”_

He knew what he would have to do and he knew what his team would have to do. He trusted them implicitly with the decisions he was about to make.

“Kensi and Sam. Pair up. You’ll make your way to the camp. Considering the terrain, I’d suspect you’ll encounter unfriendlies most likely to the west of where we are. Take out as many as you can, but your primary objective is to get that prototype,” he told them firmly. “If recovery is impossibly, we got permission to blow it up. It will not remain in these men’s hands. Do I make myself clear?”

There was a brief pause and Callen turned towards where he knew Sam was. “Sam?” he demanded.

Another pause and then a soft sigh, “alright.”

Kensi chimed in with a soft, “copy that.”

Callen gave a small nod before turning to where Deeks knelt down to his right. “Kensi, give Deeks your sniper rifle before you head out. Deeks, you’re on overwatch.”

There was another pause before Deeks stuttered, “you want me to…?”

“Deeks stays with you,” Sam’s retort was sharp.

He knew that Sam was trying to look out for him, but he didn’t react to his partner’s outburst. They didn’t have the man-power to leave a babysitter for him and while Sam might argue, he would still see sense in the tactical decision. He listened to Sam getting up and starting to pace.

Callen ignored his partner. Instead, he needed to make Deeks’ comfortable in his role. From all four of them, Deeks was usually the last in line to pick up the sniper position. Kensi would always be the primary choice, followed by Sam or Callen, but in this instance, Deeks was the only viable option. He needed Sam and Kensi together. They were both proficient in tracking and close quarter combat. Deeks had improved over the years as they had pushed him on in combat training, all of them helping in shaping him into a skillful individual, but in these conditions, he would be more valuable in an overwatch position than on the ground.

“Find higher ground,” he told the other man calmly, “don’t try to find a point where you can shadow Kensi and Sam all the way. Satellite data was quite clear that there was no such point. As long as we’re without a link to Ops, you’ll be our focal point and eyes. Also, try and guard the rear so their way back is clear.”

He could feel the unease running off of Deeks, so Callen decided to go for levity, “make sure you don’t put bullets into Kensi and Sam’s butts and you’ll be fine,” he smirked.

“What about you?”

“Me?” Callen asked, tilting his head to the side, “I’ll have the easy job of sitting around here, waiting for you to come back and fetch me.” He waved his hand around, indicating the space around them.

“You could stick with Deeks,” Kensi suggested. The tone of voice was soft, somewhere between needling him to try and make him go along with her suggestion and knowing he wouldn’t go for it.

Callen shook his head, “far too dangerous. If he needs to relocate or get away quickly, I will be a liability,” Callen stated. He hated identifying himself as a liability, but in the current circumstances that was exactly what he was.

The silence coming from the other three was affirmation enough that no one could dispute his claim nor his orders.

Callen signed off of comms and turned his body fully towards Deeks. Pep-talks really weren’t his thing, but while Deeks could bluff and project confidence with the best of them, he didn’t right now, and that was cause for concern to Callen. “Trust in your training, Deeks. Remember the pointers Kensi gave you. You’ve spotted for her often enough. You’ve got this.”

There were several silent moments where he felt Deeks’ eyes on him. “Ok,” Deeks murmured quietly. Callen listened to the tone of voice. He didn’t find unbreakable confidence, but he heard determination…. and a determined Deeks was a powerful asset.

“Good,” he nodded, “go. If you can survey the terrain from here, let Kensi help in picking a spot for you, otherwise trust your own instincts.”

He listened to Deeks rising from his crouch. There was another brief moment of silence before the Detective left, his footsteps fading away, being replaced by Sam’s steps drawing closer. Callen faced his partner.

“You’ll be vulnerable on your own,” Sam told him quietly as he squatted down.

Callen shrugged, “the alternatives won’t work,” he said evenly, “I’m tucked out of sight in here and I won’t go out looking for trouble. That’s the best we can do given the circumstances.”

“I don’t like it,” Sam muttered.

Callen tilted his head to the side, “that makes two of us, partner, but it can’t be helped.”

“I know.”

Those two words were the quiet affirmation that Sam knew the stakes and also knew that their objective was much more important than the safety of one man.

“Good,” Callen gave back. He drew a slow breath before firming his voice, “you’ve got your orders. Go.”

Xxxxxxx

He had checked out the cave more thoroughly after the others had left. He needed a clearer idea of the dimensions of the place he found himself in, needed to know the layout so that he could use it to his advantage - in case off.

He had mapped out the cave with his hands and feet, had felt for niches, uneven ground or objects in the way. The open ground in the middle was most difficult to navigate because he lost his point of orientation when he left the walls. After multiple laps around and through the cave, he was confident he could navigate it well enough.

Callen listened to the sporadic chatter over their comm.-system. Deeks kept him apprised most while Sam and Kensi remained mostly silent in their approach of the camp. They only chimed in to give brief updates on their progress or once after they had quietly taken out a patrol of three guards. It reduced the number of enemies to fifteen.

He kept himself busy by shifting the virtual chess board they were playing on inside of his head, following Kensi and Sam on the virtual map in his brain, calculating the most probable scenarios and listening to what his instincts told him. It wasn’t much, considering he was lacking the bigger picture, but it kept him from feeling completely useless.

Callen froze. Tilting his head to the side, he listened closely, waiting to see if the sound came again.

There.

It was a soft shuffle, this time accompanied by a deep masculine voice.

“Damn,” Callen reached up and activated his comm.-link, “I’m about to get company,” he murmured quietly, getting up on his feet and moving carefully and soundlessly.

Just a heartbeat later, Sam’s voice sounded out, “we’re turning back.”

“No,” Callen contradicted the statement, “you’ve got your orders. Move on,” he said firmly. Sam and Kensi wouldn’t make it back in time anyway, “Deeks?” he called quietly.

“Yeah, I see them,” came the Detective’s voice, “two bogies close to the entrance of your personal hideout. I’ll take them out.”

Callen nodded to himself, “do it,” he gave the order, knowing it was unnecessary but giving it anyway.

The first shot rang out through the valley, echoing inside of the cave as well.

A second shot came moments later.

“Damn it, missed one. He’s ducking inside, Callen,” Deeks warned.

He had long since positioned himself to the side of the entrance. If he had heard correctly, the enemy combatants had approached from the same direction they had come from. With the second man being shot, Callen suspected the survivor to duck into the cave as quickly as possible and with the bottleneck entrance, he hoped the other man was facing away from him. He was staking a lot on his instincts and some scientific wild-ass guessing.

His right hand freed his knife and Callen waited, listening closely to the shuffle of footsteps that approached. Timing his attack, he moved forward, relying on training and instincts.

His left hand reached out, meeting flesh.

Adjusting his aim, he shifted his arm forward to get a better grip before he drew the other man against him. His right hand came up to sink the knife into his opponent’s back. The trajectory was off and the blade missed the target, glancing off. The pained grunt let him know that he had wounded the other man, but the resistance the blade met was too small to have drawn a large wound.

Callen huffed out a breath when the other man’s elbow dug into his abdomen before he was thrown back. He bounced off the wall, his fingers still firmly closed around the knife. He fought to keep his footing while at the same time listening for his opponent’s moves.

Having felt the man’s physique as he had been pressed against his own body, Callen knew he was facing a strong opponent; a good six feet tall, wide chest and shoulders.

What he didn’t know was how good of a fighter the other man was. Unable to see, he was at a huge disadvantage because he couldn’t visually assess the other man or his movements.

Drawing a slow breath to steel himself, knowing this fight might not go his way, preparing himself for the possibility of loss, the possibility of death, Callen reacted more out of instinct than having heard the move. His left arm came up, his forearm clashing against the other man’s as he deflected the blow. The wound in his arm that he had acquired during the explosion stung, but he ignored it. Following his deflective move, placing his opponent’s position by their close proximity, his right hand jabbed out, blade forward, seeking center mass.

The other man danced away before stepping to the side. Callen instantly turned with him, moving forward and issuing a second attack, following the sound of heavy breathing.

He ducked his head, again more instinct than a conscious decision. The man’s blow glanced off his temple, making him stagger and fall. Still, a full hit would have most likely taken him out.

Growling to himself, Callen went with the force of the blow, rolling to absorb the energy. He rolled several more times when he heard the other man following him with big steps, the sound of steps asymmetric as his opponent adjusted his stance to try and score a kick.

Hearing the whoosh of air move past him despite the sounds of his own movement, Callen aborted the next roll, knowing his opponent would be unbalanced with merely one leg on the ground. He flung himself back into the direction he had come from, adjusting his aim with the same scientific wild-ass guesses he had worked with before. His left arm slung around the man’s leg, his right instantly adjusting as he now had a firm point of orientation. He thrust the knife deep into the other man’s calf before dragging the blade free in a slashing motion, seeking to inflict as much damage as possible. He doubted he had severed any sinews or arteries, but he had scored an important wound.

His enemy retreated with a howl.

Rolling to his feet, knowing he was close to the wall now, Callen instantly turned to face his opponent again, knowing he had to push on immediately.

Before, he had possibly seemed like an easy target, being obviously blinded and therefore perceived as weak, but he doubted his opponent would continue to see him as such. He listened to the rustling of fabric. It wasn’t the sound of moving from one place to another, but the rustle of fabric when something was reached for. If he were in his opponent’s shoes, if he hadn’t done so before, this would be the time to reach for a weapon.

Callen followed the sound, his left hand striking out, connecting with the man’s body. He couldn’t tell where the hit scored, but it effectively distracted the other man. Callen pressed forward. His left arm slung around the other man’s neck, drawing him forward and off balance at the same time as he thrust the knife forward.

This time the blade found center mass. The thrust was angled upwards and he plunged the knife in to the hilt. Another flick of his wrist furthered the damage.

There was a stunned silence followed by a pained gurgle that came from the other man. Warm blood ran down over his hand. He withdrew the knife, knowing it would worsen the bleeding. Throwing the blade behind him, Callen reached for the man’s head and neck. His position wasn’t optimal, but still, a moment later, the man’s neck snapped under his hands.

The knife wound probably would have been fatal, but in his compromised state, he couldn’t be sure, and he definitely couldn’t take any chances.

Letting go of the man, he stumbled back into the wall behind him, his breathing heavy after the short but intense fight for his life. His hands shook against the wall in his back as his fingers curled into the jagged rockface and he shuddered as the residual adrenaline pumped through his body.

Hanging his head, he panted through the waves of adrenaline, waiting for them to abate.

Reaching up, he tapped his ear to check in with the team, only to find the earwig missing. Before he had time to consider if he should go looking for the missing piece of hardware, a sound from outside of the cave drew his attention.

Callen bit his lip in frustration. Another fight would be much more difficult with the not so small obstacle of a dead body placed on the ground for him to stumble over.

Carefully measuring his steps, glad that he had taken the time to map out the cave beforehand so he was relatively certain of exactly where he was, he shifted to the right before he crouched down and drew his weapon. He wasn’t certain where his knife had ended up, so he would have to try and take the next opponent out with a bullet.

Listening to the quiet footsteps outside, he waited, adjusting his aim to hopefully the correct trajectory. He squeezed off a round the moment he heard the shuffle of footsteps slipping into the bottleneck.

A yelp sounded out before he heard the person jump back in retreat.

“Federal agent. Drop your weapon.”

Callen threw up his hands in frustration, “Damn it! Are you trying to get yourself killed, Deeks?” he shouted. A moment later, knowing it was a friend entering the cave, not another enemy, Callen secured his weapon before tucking it back into the holster.

The sound of movement from the entrance alerted him of the other man’s approach before the footsteps stopped.

“You could have answered when we asked for you to check in,” came the sourly though somewhat distracted reply, “also… he dead?”

“Does he look alive to you?” Callen snapped back. Admittedly, he didn’t know how the man looked, but he had felt the guy’s neck snap under his hands, so he was certain he wouldn’t be any trouble anymore. He resisted kicking the body in frustration. “And I lost my earwig in the scuffle somewhere,” Callen admitted as an afterthought.

“A second one? Really. It’s been what? Two hours since you lost the first,” Deeks exclaimed, though there was a hint of levity returning to his voice as his stress level slowly lowered.

“Don’t remind me,” Callen muttered, “Hetty’s gonna be pissed.”

A scoff, somewhere between a laugh of mirth and a choke of relief, came from where Deeks’ stood. A second of silence settled around them before Deeks moved forward. Callen listened to his approach.

“You good, man?” Deeks asked in a murmur when he stood maybe an arm’s length away.

Callen nodded, “better than him,” he replied slowly, hearing the slight warble his voice held, result of the adrenaline, the fight and the tension.

“Yeah,” Deeks gave back just as quietly.

Callen startled somewhat when Deeks’ hand fell against the back of his neck. He didn’t fight when the other man drew him in for a quick hug, admittedly appreciative of the gesture, allowing it to reaffirm his belief that he had indeed survived the previous fight.

Deeks drew back moments later. “Any of that blood yours?” he asked.

Callen shrugged. “The wound on my arm may have reopened, other than that, I’m good.”

There was a brief moment of silence where Callen felt the other man’s eyes on him. He didn’t comment though.

“I’m with Callen. He’s fine,” Deeks spoke up moments later. It was clear that he wasn’t speaking to him though, instead was probably updating the rest of the team, “no, he couldn’t. He lost his earwig.” There was another short pause before he continued, “yeah, that’s what I said.”

Callen heard the grin that swung in Deeks’ voice. He would have rolled his eyes if it weren’t pointless due to the bindings and possibly painful.

After a few more words, Deeks signed off and Callen sighed. “Could you check where my knife ended up? I can’t exactly go looking for it,” Callen asked, gesturing towards his eyes, “also… if you come across the earwig, that would be perfect.”

He listened to Deeks moving around the cave after he pointed him in the general direction of where his knife should have ended up.

“Today’s your lucky day: found the earwig,” Deeks proclaimed a few moments later, “it even looks to be undamaged.”

Callen held out his hand when Deeks approached moments later. For the second time that day, the earwig was dropped into the palm of his hand and he turned it over so he could re-insert it into his ear. “Check in,” he directed as soon as he opened the connection.

“Approaching camp,” Sam’s voice was distracted.

“Proceed,” Callen ordered calmly, knowing he had to back off. The check in had been more for Sam and Kensi’s benefit than for his anyway. He knew his partner would be fretting despite Deeks informing them about his continuing survival.

Callen half turned when Deeks stepped back up beside him, nudging his arm. A moment later, Deeks’ hand closed around his right wrist, drawing his hand up and turning it over before he placed the hilt of his knife into his hand.

He gave the younger man a smile, “appreciated,” he acknowledged the gesture.

Callen returned the knife to its sheath at his thigh, feeling better for having a silent weapon back on his person. He drew a measured breath, slowly settling back into a controlled mindset.

“Deeks, go back outside and guard the entrance,” he directed calmly, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to get Deeks to agree to return to his previous overwatch position. He would have to settle for the next best option then, hoping Deeks would be able to provide some help to Kensi and Sam from this position if need be.

Callen listened to his team mate’s movements. Before the other man could go more than three steps, he called him back, “hang on. Let’s put the body somewhere out of the way so I don’t accidentally stumble over him.” He had a more or less general idea where the body had ended up, but in case another fight came their way, Callen would like to know he couldn’t compromise his safety by falling.

He started following Deeks’ steps to help when the other man directed him to stay back. On the one hand, he bristled about the directive, on the other hand, he knew he might just get in the way.

Moments later, after depositing the body further back in the cave, Deeks slipped past him with a brief touch to his shoulder. “Try to stay out of trouble, yeah?”

Callen scoffed softly, but didn’t comment, having heard the humor in Deeks’ voice and knowing it was the other man’s way of letting go of some of the tension.

“Prototype located and recovered,” Sam’s voice suddenly came on over their comm.-system.

“Good, fall back to our position,” Callen ordered.

Despite the hiccups along the way, they had managed to secure their objective. Now they just had to team up again and then make their way back home. Hopefully their luck was looking up.

“-llen… y--… copy?”

The line that opened up was staticy, broken and fragmented, but he could identify Nell’s voice. It seemed their wonder twins were working on getting their connection to base back up.

He reached up and touched his ear wig. “Nell?”

The line fractured and undulated. Several more distorted words could be heard for several more seconds before it eventually stabilized. “Callen? Do you copy?”

“Go ahead Nell. We’re reading you,” he answered, glad their luck indeed seemed to be looking up.

“Status report, Mr. Callen.”

“The prototype has been recovered,” he answered, going with the most important information first.

“Our tracking data suggests you’ve split up…” Nell let the sentence hang, waiting for him to fill the blanks.

“Sam and Kensi are on their way back from the camp. They have acquired the prototype. Deeks is with me and providing overwatch as best as possible from our location.”

“What he fails to say is that we need a MedEvac at our pickup point,” Sam’s voice rang out.

Callen pursed his lips in annoyance, having wanted to neglect telling that little detail.

“How bad?” Hetty’s voice came online before Callen could say anything.

“Barely a scratch,” Callen gave back, only to have his words overridden by his partner’s voice again.

“Occular trauma after a grenade came too close. Mostly superficial wounds due to debris I think. We cleaned it out as best as possible and it’s treated with the supplies we’ve had available, but it will have to be checked more thoroughly. And a gash on his arm.”

Callen bit back the frustration and any words that wanted to escape, instead resigned himself to his fate.

“Medical personnel is on standby. ETA to the pickup point?” Nell asked.

“We’ll be at Callen and Deeks’ position in under ten minutes. Getting Callen to alpha pickup point will probably take a good thirty minutes.”

Everything inside of him railed against being the defining factor of their timeline and against basically having Sam take over the briefing. Then again, he knew he needed to defer to his team mates and Sam was his second in command. He had guided them this far despite his impairment. He could suffer the indignity of being talked over.

“How many unfriendlies remain out there?” Callen asked.

“Three unaccounted for.” This time, it was Kensi who provided details.

Callen sighed. Three enemy combatants were three too many in his estimation. With his limited capabilities, he couldn’t aid in their safe retreat, instead drew important support and manpower to himself. “Any chance you can help with thermal imaging, guys?”

“No can do. Current temperatures prevent us from getting any good pictures. Sorry,” Nell said regretfully.

“We’ll have satellite coverage in a few minutes so we’ll see if we can spot any movement out in the open,” Eric suggested.

“Air support will be provided,” Hetty came back online just moments later, “a Seahawk helicopter is en route to your coordinates and will arrive in the vicinity within fifteen minutes.”

Knowing the military pilots capabilities, Callen guessed they wouldn’t have to go to their predetermined pickup point but would probably be picked up en route. He could actually admit to liking that, not having to stumble through the terrain blinded any more than necessary. “Copy that,” he acknowledged.

Xxxxxxx

The problem with being temporarily blinded was that sneaking off to escape medical treatment proved to be difficult. He couldn’t see where the medics were coming from and the stable hold his partner provided when they stepped off the helicopter also doubled as shackles that kept him from vanishing.

Therefore Callen found himself guided into the Medical center of the Air Base to be prodded and checked out. The damage to his eyes was neither long-term nor was it too bad, but he would be out of commission and would have to contend with being blinded for a few days.

Still, it irked him and his hands itched to reach up and tear off the bandages.

He would have sent his partner a glare or two, but alas, his eyes were again covered when Sam reappeared at his side.

“So?” Sam asked.

“I don’t like you very much right now,” Callen muttered, pursing his lips in thought.

“Do I look like I care?”

Callen turned his head towards Sam’s voice. Obviously the glare worked through the bindings because Sam grunted and wordlessly backed down over his somewhat badly chosen words.

Callen hopped off the gurney and waved his partner to follow. Sam guided him around obstacles but tacitly didn’t comment on it.

The chatter of their junior team members reached him and Callen listened to them snipe at each other while they approached.

“All set?” Deeks asked when they stopped beside the pair.

Callen nodded, “yeah, we’re good to go.”

“Hetty has organized for transport. We’ll be leaving in thirty minutes. The prototype is under heavy guard and out of our hands,” Kensi reported.

Good; that was one less responsibility. He gave the others a small smile, “then let’s go home.” It was time to be done with this mission and he wasn’t sad to see it go… well, not literally, but you obviously couldn’t get it all.


End file.
